By 
July 15th, 2026
Image credit: SpaceX
The thirteenth flight test of the SpaceX Starship program is preparing to launch as soon as Thursday, July 16.
The 90-minute launch window will open at 5:45 p.m. Central “Texas” Time.
According to SpaceX, the Starship’s primary test objective will be executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America.
Several modifications
“There have been several modifications to hardware and software to address issues seen on the previous flight,” a SpaceX posting notes:
- The Super Heavy booster on this upcoming flight has hardware modifications to improve re-light reliability along with updates to engine alarms and aborts to match the conditions seen in the multi-engine flight environment.
- There have been several modifications to Starship’s propulsion system to address the engine out issue experienced on the previous flight.
- Several hardware and operational modifications have been made to enhance reliability of the Raptor engine.
Suborbital Starlinks
Starship’s upper stage’s primary objectives this flight includes the deployment of 20 Starlink V3 satellites, a relight of a single Raptor engine while in space, and another controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Image credit: SpaceX
Starship’s deployment of the 20 satellites involves extending satellite solar arrays and antennas, and attempting to connect with the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers.
Note that this flight has the deployed Starlink satellites flying on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship. They are expected to demise upon reentry approximately 20 minutes after deployment.
Heat shield scanning
Six of the Starlink V3 satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators. They are to test methods to analyze Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions.
Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.
A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff.
Image credit: SpaceX
“As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, “explains SpaceX, so be sure to check in and stay tuned into their X account for updates at:
To view this Starship test flight, go to:
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